


A River for Two

by InSpaceYoghurt



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Alec Hardy Needs A Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, How Do I Tag, Implied/Referenced Character Death, I’ve forgotten how to tag, Maybe - Freeform, Minor Character Death, Sad Ending, well not much comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27521107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InSpaceYoghurt/pseuds/InSpaceYoghurt
Summary: Daisy is found in a river. You can guess what comes next.
Relationships: Alec Hardy & Daisy Hardy, Alec Hardy & Ellie Miller
Comments: 8
Kudos: 33





	A River for Two

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sima_sto](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sima_sto/gifts).



> Oh how fun. I’m back. I’m sorry. And- yeah I’m sorry. 
> 
> My last fic I sorta promised to update the following Monday... and I didn’t. I’m sorry. You get this instead. A month later. 
> 
> Very sorry again. 
> 
> Also, this is inspired by sima_sto’s wonderful request/prompt. I hope I didn’t eff it up lol. 
> 
> Oh just as a warning I do drop the eff bomb here once or twice if that’s something you care about.

River for Two

Alec Hardy swore he would never have to pull another child out of a river. Not after Pippa. Not after Sandbrook. But his heart raced as frantic thoughts became a thick fog in his head. He could just feel his heart preparing for the worst. He could feel the pressure on it as if the smallest prod would set it off like a ticking bomb. 

And if his heart didn’t kill him in the end, his driving would. Nearly jumping out of the car while in motion, he raced towards the river bank. The rain was pouring down on him so hard you couldn’t differentiate between the tears and the grey droplets rolling down his face. It was Sandbrook all over again. 

It was Sandbrook, but worse. Much, much worse. 

And even though he knew deep down how this would end, a fragment of his soul that he kept so hidden and locked away, rose to the surface, clinging on to any hope it could, even if false hope was all that was left. A hope that a body wasn’t sighted in that same god awful river. A hope telling him that Daisy had arrived at Tess’s and just forgot to call back when she got there. A hope that he wouldn’t have to pull another child out of the river. 

But, if only he didn’t see the ghostly white figure floating downstream. If only he didn’t see the light blue jacket, clinging onto the lifeless girl with the same jacket he had gotten Daisy when she had moved in with him. If only he didn’t see her loving blue eyes, still seemingly glowing bright despite the state of her, a trait he’d only seen in Tess’s eyes. 

It was her. It was his Daisy. 

He charged after her. She could still be saved, chimed that false hope again. And, oh, how he hated false hope! Oh, how he despised it! False hope only ever made the goodbyes harder. It only ever caused more pain. 

He hadn’t even reached the water before he heard a faint voice call out from his backside. Yet, the voice was drowned out. It wasn’t as loud as his heart beating against his chest or the rain echoing inside his mind. 

He wasn’t going to let anything come between him and that girl. Not ever. Not after this. 

“It’ll be just you and me from now on! I promise! No more cases and no more broken heart! Just time... just more time. I won’t leave you...” 

And he screamed that as loud as he could. 

“I promise! I promise!” 

He never broke his promises. 

But it was as if the universe was against him. Long branches seemed to tear away at his skin as he got closer to the water; he pushed through it anyway. A thick river of mud seemed to seep into his shoes, rising to his ankles; he pushed through it anyway. And then a set of arms wrapped tightly around him seemed to stop him in his path; this he could not push through. 

He was so close. He could smell the musty air and the scent of wet leaves. The rushing water was so loud he was practically drowning in it. But forward he could no longer move; the grip around his arms was too tough. Or, perhaps, he was too weak. 

A soft voice whispered in his ear.

“Shhh, shhh. Come away, come away.”

Her voice almost sounded as hurt as he felt, yet as soothing as anything he had heard. 

“I promised-“

“Hardy-“

“I’m not leaving her, Miller! Not again! I made a fucking promise Miller. A promise.”

But his bones were too weak to push any more. His body was shaking, soaked from the rain. 

Ellie wrapped herself around him, helping him back to the field where he spotted bright yellow coats with large duffles moving towards the river bank. 

He had sworn he would never have to pull another body out of the river. 

He was correct. 

But only half correct. He never had to pull another body from that same damned river. Instead, bright yellow coats did, dragging the limp and pale form through the mud of the bank and water of the rain. They covered it too. Everything, including her face. Her beautiful face. Her dainty hands. Her blue coat. 

Just a dark lump in the shape of a body carried away from him on a stretcher. 

He wanted to run up to her. He wanted to uncover her face. He wanted to see her smile underneath it or laugh, telling him she was okay and it was just a game of hiding and seek. 

Ellie used all her power to hold him back. 

So, he let out a scream. An indignant, blood-curdling cry that made Ellie weep too. 

The last of his hope was shattered and broken into too many pieces to fix. The last of his soul was gone. Instead, he was left to slowly drown in his river that no one could pull him out of to be saved.

**Author's Note:**

> Also wrote this on my mobile device, so please tell me if grammar or spelling is really bad. I mean. On a normal day my grammar and spelling is bad so I suppose tell me if it’s worse than bad lol. Ok. Imma shut up now.


End file.
